UN: Russia's Missile Attack On Kharkiv The Most Deadly

Russian missile attacks destroyed shops and cafes in Kupiansk. (Twitter/@ZelenskyyUa)

JAKARTA - The United Nations High Commissioner' Office for Human Rights called Russia's airstrikes killing 52 people in Kharkiv, Ukraine, one of Ukraine's deadliest attacks during the war in Ukraine.

"What is clear is that the attack is one of the deadliest since February 24, 2022, but of course, this is not the only one," said the office spokesman, Elizabeth Thresell, at a news conference in Geneva.

Such attacks, according to Thorsell, further show the consequences that must be borne by civilians due to the Ukraine war.

The Russian missile attack hit a cafe in Hroza village located in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, where villagers are gathering for mourning the death of the Ukrainian army.

The village is reportedly not near military or industrial targets.

"So far, our colleagues in the Ukraine Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) have named 35 people killed, consisting of 19 women, 15 men, and an 8-year-old boy, as well as five women and one injured," he said.

A Ukrainian soldier attending his father's funeral was among those killed, authorities said.

Prior to the war, the village population was around 300 people. Thresell admitted that he was not very sure how many people there are currently because many were killed as a result of the war.

The United Nations Office for Human Rights noted that at least eight families lost more than one relative who died in the attack, he said.

"Once again we emphasize that international humanitarian law, especially rules regarding hostile behavior, must be enforced."

Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination (OCHA), also discussed the matter, and said Ukraine's humanitarian coordinator, Denise Brown, condemned the attack.

UN agencies and Ukraine's NGO partners are mobilizing aid for civilians in the region, including medical supplies and health support, shelter maintenance equipment, non-food items, cash, and cleaning aid as well as mental and psychosocial health support, Laerke said.

He said Brown was visiting Hroza today to see firsthand how the humanitarian community supports the victims.